Jake Langley

Join Jake for his first Mike's Master Class, "Making the Changes - Translating the Jazz Language on Guitar". Jake will cover substitute changes, inside/outside playing and chromatics. This class is 2 hours long. Langley discusses several key points: Playing Through Changes : He emphasizes the importance of moving beyond scales and standard licks to play music that feels more improvised and expressive. He suggests breaking down jazz lines into smaller components, like four-note groups, to understand and internalize jazz language better. The Concept of F7 : Langley introduces the idea that F7 is not just a scale or a mode but a "color" or "sound area" that can be approached in various ways. He demonstrates this by playing different versions of F7 chords to illustrate their sound. Connecting Guide Tones and Creating Lines : He talks about connecting guide tones (key chord tones like 3rds and 7ths) using small musical ideas to navigate through the changes in a jazz piece. This involves understanding where you're coming from musically and where you're going, which helps in improvisation. Exercises and Techniques : Langley provides exercises to help break free from repetitive patterns, like playing in four-note groups and resolving them in ways that are inherent to the tonality being played over, such as F7 in this context. Use of Triads, Chromatics, and Other Devices : He also delves into using triads, chromatic approaches, and other devices to create a more varied and rich musical language. Philosophy on Learning Jazz : Langley advocates for learning by assimilating language from jazz greats and breaking down their lines, rather than focusing solely on scales and theory. Practical Advice : He includes practical advice on metronome use, developing right-hand technique, and understanding the importance of time feel in jazz. Equipment and Setup : Towards the end, Langley talks about his guitar setup, string preferences, and amplification to achieve his sound. This masterclass is a deep dive into developing a jazz vocabulary on the guitar, emphasizing listening, learning from the greats, and practical exercises to internalize jazz language and improve improvisational skills.

Jake Langley teaches a primer on jazz guitar chord voicings in his second Mike's Master Class, covering 4-part chords , 4th voicings , and voice-leading . Rather than treating voicings as isolated grips, Jake applies them directly to chord progressions and tunes, so you hear how each voicing functions in real musical context. A solid foundation class for guitarists who want to organize their chord vocabulary and connect voicings smoothly.

Jake Langley explores the diminished sound from every angle — scales, lines, tricks, and the logic behind them — showing how diminished harmony works in real jazz playing. What's covered The diminished scale and diminished harmony: lines, patterns, and licks from the jazz vocabulary Using diminished for tonic-dominant resolutions in II-V-I and III-VI-II-V progressions Diminished lines over V7b9 chords Adding notes to diminished scales for fresh colors How diminished functions in modern chord progressions Diminished arpeggios as pivots A clear, practical introduction for players who want to understand where diminished ideas come from and start putting them to work in their own lines.

Jake Langley shares the practice methods that have worked for him, showing how to organize a practice routine, manage your time, and get what you shed into your actual playing. He demonstrates the concepts over Autumn Leaves . What's covered Organizing your practice routine and managing practice time Getting material from the practice room into your playing Working with tonal centers Constructing lines over ii-V-I and ii-V-i changes Chromaticism Polyrhythms Demonstrations using Autumn Leaves Written lines and exercises are included with this class, so you can take the material straight to the practice room. Full video is 1 hour and 25 minutes.

Jake Langley walks through how a solo guitar arrangement comes together, covering the core skills of chord melody playing in a single focused class. What's covered Chord melody fundamentals Harmonizing a melody Reharmonizing Mixing single-note lines into an arrangement Chord voicings A good starting point for players who want to move beyond playing tunes as single lines and start building complete solo guitar arrangements.

Jake Langley continues from his first Mike's Master Class, Making the Changes - Translating the Jazz Language on Guitar , showing how to connect melodic lines through rhythm changes . Where the first class focused on a single tonal center, this one tackles progressions that move two chords per bar. In this class Extending the four-note cell connection from part one to two-chords-per-bar progressions Examples and analysis of lines Applying diminished chords within the lines Watching Jake spontaneously create lines with these concepts in real time Running time: 39:58. Written examples: none — this is a follow-along class. Best taken after part one, but useful for any player working on navigating rhythm changes.

Jake Langley teaches melodic comping for jazz guitar, working through a blues and Stella by Starlight . Instead of static chord stabs, Jake builds accompaniment from harmonized melodies, oldies riffs, and blues phrases — essentially making chord melodies out of your comping. What's covered Comping through a blues with harmonized melodic lines Comping over Stella by Starlight , with a Soundslice clip of Jake's comping to follow along with Using oldies riffs and blues phrases as accompaniment material Turning chord melody thinking into accompaniment Includes 1 page of TAB. Running time: 30'58''.